BEIJING — Sunday’s heavy snowfall, the real deal, disrupted Olympic events. Participants were reminded that this was a winter competition. Skiers took to the slopes to battle Mother Nature amid the snow and fog.
Beijing organizers created the snowboarding and ski courses almost entirely from man-made snow. These conditions were altered by the real snow for Sunday’s athletes.
In response, organizers canceled training for women’s downhill skiing and qualified women for freeskiing.
The Yanqing alpine skiing venue, located in the mountainous northwest Beijing, was expected to see snow all day. It has. Crews were sent to clear the area with trucks and plows, as well as large and small plows. The first run of the men’s giant slalom was completed as planned, despite poor visibility for competitors. The second run was delayed.
Giant slalom is a technical competition in which athletes must ski between poles called gates until they reach the end.
The first qualifier was not completed by 33 skiers. As they wiggled and weaved down the slope, they fell in the snow. Low visibility caused many to fall or ski off the course completely. Some fell down the mountain, falling over poles and getting buried under the fluffy white snow.
Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway said succinctly about the visibility that he couldn’t see s**t.
He managed to finish 27th on the course.
Skiers who did not complete their runs said that they were fine with race organizers continuing with the competition.
It is definitely frustrating. It’s definitely not what I expected, but it’s part and parcel of the game, part the sport,” Loic Meillard from Switzerland, who didn’t finish, stated. “We have raced in such conditions before, it’s not our first time
